Fastening clips have been known for a long time as a quick way of fastening parts onto a shaft or securing a pin in a bearing and the like. The shaft or pin has a groove cut into the cylindrical side wall at the point on the shaft or pin where the clip is to be affixed. The clip is inserted in the groove either by forcing the split in the clip open until the clip snaps past the high points in the groove or by using special tools for opening the clip so that it can be slid into the groove.
Often the location of the groove is awkward to reach especially where parts are bulky and are intended to be flush with one wall of the groove making the alignment and insertion of the clip almost impossible. Frequently, the clip will drop down into other parts of the machinery causing possible hazards to safe operation of the equipment. Special tools, such as a pair of pliers with pins on the jaws adapted to engage in openings in the free ends of the clip, are used to enlarge the opening in the clip so as to facilitate assembly of the clip in the retaining groove. Frequently the special tools are lost or misplaced and even when tools are available they are often not usable due to the limited space in and around the connection area.
Other problems result from the loss of the clip making assembly impossible or from the inconvenient inaccessible location of the connection making assembly and/or disassembly a virtual impossibility.